The Director-General, Katsina State Investment Promotion Agency (KIPA), Alhaji Ibrahim Tukur-Jikamshi, says the state was ranked fifth in ease of doing business in Nigeria due to its commitment to reform and streamline business processes.

Tukur-Jikamshi stated this in a sideline interview with newsmen on the three-day Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) Subnational Tour, North-west region, in Katsina, on Thursday.

The PEBEC Head of Reforms and Interventions, Mrs Toyin Bashir, announced that Katsina has ascended from ninth position in the ease of doing business ranking in 2021 to fifth position in 2023.

The Director-General said that the objective of the tour is to encourage peer learning among states in the sub region.

Tukur-Jikamshi explained that the state government had established the Katsina Geographical Information System, where processes of land acquisition, transfer of ownership, among others, have been digitised and simplified.

He said that paying of tax and other business related issues are also made easier using the digital system, thereby making the process more affordable, comfortable and time saving.

Tukur-Jikamshi further explained that the government initiated incentives for investors, like a tax holiday of three to five years, depending on the magnitude of the investment, just to attract more investors.

“Nigeria grew by 34 points within a span of three years, this showed that PEBEC is doing well, and this is a remarkable achievement.

“And in Katsina State, as of today, we are fifth in the ease of doing business in Nigeria.

“We have established Katsina State Enterprises Development Agency (KASEDA), now partnering with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to provide N4 billion credit for entrepreneurship development.

“Sterling Bank also set aside N4 billion for that purpose, we have a state’s Micro Finance Bank, been re-capitalised, and now have 15 branches supporting growth of small businesses.

“And we also have our budget of N5 billion on the development of MSMEs.

“All these are accessible to all entrepreneurs and investors irrespective of their status and affiliations”, Tukur-jikamshi said.

He also said that the government had separated enterprises from empowerment and established agencies responsible for each in order to ensure maximum output and make doing business easier.  (NAN)